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UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
LIBRARY 


SPECIAL 
collection: 

F 

A5W2 
1903 


Gift  of 


ELISEA  A. 
Class  of 


JOEES 

^QQk 


SKETCHES  OF  LOCAL   HISTORY. 

in 
ALICE  M.  WALKER 


J>  Aniho'st  Girl  of  ye  Olden   Tyme. 

''  By  a  simple  assemblage  of  facts,  the  author  has  contrived  to  introduce  her 
readers  to  the  people,  the  customs,  the  occupations  and  the  recreations  which 
made  up  the  life  of  Amherst  during  the  last  century.''—//.  //.  Neill^  Professor  of 
English  Literature,  Amherst  College. 


Early  Days  in  the  Connect ieiif    Valley. 


"  Mrs.  Walker  has  gathered  from  many  sources,  facts,  and  put  them  together 
in  a  most  interesting  narrative,  told  in  a  style  unusually   picturesque."— 7"//r 

A^atio/i . 

The  Story  of  a  JVeiv  England  Country  Church. 

"  It  relates  the  unique  history  of  the  meeting  house  and  the  religious  society 
of  North  Amherst."' 

"  Mrs.  Walker  not  only  instructs  but  she  interests  and  enlivens.  She  writes 
in  a  graceful  style  and  is  at  the  same  time  a  keen  humorist."— ^rt'rczw  A.  Grosvc- 
nor,  Professor  of  Modern  Government  and  International  Law,  Amherst  College. 

Mary  Mattoon  and  Her  Hero  of  the  Rei^olution. 

"  The  story  as  told  within  these  covers  gives  us  a  fresh  and  unhackneyed  pic- 
ture not  only  of  the  childhood  and  early  girlhood  of  our  heroine  but  of  the  sturdy 
little  boy,  laying  from  year  to  year  the  foundations  of  that  strength  and  master- 
fulness of  character  which  afterwards  carried  him  so  triumphantly  through  the 
days  that  tried  men's  souls."— i/«/;6'/  Looinis  Todd,  President  of  tlie  Amherst 
Historical  Society. 

Through    Turkey  Pass  to  Amherst  and  Bevond. 

This  booklet  describes  Amiierst  and  bits  of  neighboring  towns  as  seen  by  the 
tourist  who  rides  on  the  trolley  car  from  Mount  Norwottuck  to  Sugar  Loaf,  and 
from  Amherst  College  to  Pelham  heights.  Oldtime  associations  are  recalled  by 
reference  to  the  history  of  homesteads  and  scenes  along  the  way. 


These  booklets  are  illustrated,  containing  reproductions  of  old  portraits  and 
pictures  of  Amherst  as  it  appears  to-day.  The  first  four  have  cover  designs 
drawn  by  Miss  Martha  Genung.  All  are  interesting  sketches  of  local  history 
and  suitable  for  souvenirs  and  holiday  gifts. 

The  price  of  Mary  Mattoon  a7id  Her  Hero  of  tJie  Revoliitioti  is  fifty  cents  ; 
the  price  of  each  of  the  others  is  twenty-five  cents.  Sent  anywhere  on  receipt  of 
price.    Mrs.  C.  S.  Walker,  21  Main  Street,  Amherst,  Mass. 


TKrougK  TiarKey  Pass 


TO 


-AmKerst  and  Beyond 


BY 


ALICE    M.    WALKER 


"k 


AMHERST,    MASSACHUSETTS 
1903 


Copyright  1903 
Bv  Alice  M.  Walker 


THROUGH  TURKEY  PASS  TO  AMHERST 
AND  BEYOND. 


"  Thou  lovely  vale  of  sweetest  stream  that  flows  : 
Winding-  and  willow  fringed  Connecticut : 
Swift  to  thy  fairest  scenes  my  fancy  flies." 

***** 

"  Back  to  thy  peaceful  villages  and  fields 
My  memory,  like  a  weary  pilgrim,  comes 
With  scrip  and  burdon  to  repose  awhile." 

Thus  sang  J.  G.  Holland  of  his  native  valley.  To  his  youth- 
ful poetic  vision  the  Holyoke  mountains,  as  seen  from  old 
Northampton,  v^ere  a  mystery  and  an  inspiration.  Shadows 
of  fleecy  clouds  chased  each  other  up  and  down  the  green 
slopes  of  Norwottuck.  Along  the  rocky  summit  of  Bare 
Mountain  summer  storms  gathered,  and  from  this  stronghold 
marched  across  the  valley.  Sturdy  evergreens  with  roots  run- 
ning deep  into  the  scanty  soil  between  the  cliffs  and  boulders 
diversified  the  snowy  winter  landscape.  This  ever-changing 
mountain  wall,  rising  against  the  southern  sky,  was  a  perpetual 
challenge  to  the  youth  who  afterward  climbed  those  heights,  and 
left  for  us  a  vivid  word-painting  of  the  scene  which  he  beheld. 


^  Thro2ig/i    Turkey  Pass 

"  I  saw  below  me,  like  a  jewelled  cup, 

The  valley  hollowed  to  its  heaven-kissed  lip." 

***** 

'•  Across  the  meadows,  carpet  for  the  gods, 
Northampton  rose,  half  hidden  in  her  trees, 
Lifted  above  the  level  of  the  fields, 
And  noiseless  as  a  picture,"' 

"  Eastward,  upon  another  fertile  stretch 
Of  meadow,  sward  and  tilth,  embowered  in  elms, 
Lay  the  twin  streets  and  sprang  the  single  spire 
Of  Hadley,  where  the  hunted  regicides 
Securely  lived  of  old  and  strangely  died  : 
And  eastward  still,  upon  the  last  green  step 
From  which  the  Angel  of  the  Morning  Light 
Leaps  to  the  meadow  lands,  fair  Amherst  sat, 
Capped  by  her  many  windowed  colleges  : 
While  from  his  outpost  in  the  rising  north, 
Bald  with  the  winds  and  ruddy  with  the  suns 
Of  the  long  eons,  stood  old  Sugar  Loaf, 
Gazing  with  changeless  brow  upon  a  scene 
Changing  to  fairer  beauty  evermore." 


XvarKey  Pass. 

The  early  settlers  of  Pladley  were  prosaic  people.  To  them 
those  southern  mountains  represented  difficulty  and  danger,  an 
obstacle  to  be  overcome,  a  wall  separating  them  from  the  out- 
side world.  Among  the  tangled  woods  and  rocky  passes 
lurked  bears  and  wildcats.  From  out  those  lofty  hiding-places 
came  the  stealthy  Indian  foe,  and  back  among  the  rocky 
shades  he  fled  when  his  bloody  work  was  done.  A  century 
later  the  people  who  lived  to  the  east  of  Hadley  bade  a  sor- 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond 


5 


M 

b"llfW     >ft;g^  ,;i_ 

IV.. 

1 

P  TViL<c^[^^BP^ 

•:.3, 

ELM  TREE  AND  HOMESTEAD  OF  THOMAS  J.  THURSTON 

rowful  farewell  to  their  venturesome  sons  and  daughters,  who, 
attracted  by  tales  of  the  rich  lands  and  fisheries  at  the  "  Great 
Falls  "  of  the  Connecticut  River,  moved  families  and  goods  to 
that  distant  region.  When  the  hostile  Indian  and  beast  of  prey 
had  disappeared,  the  Holyoke  mountains  were  to  the  mind  of 
the  Amherst  farmer  a  never  failing  woodlot,  a  game  preserve 
whence  he  could  procure  fresh  meat,  and  a  pasture  for  his  cattle. 
The  first    travelled  path  through  the  forest   from    Amherst  to 


6  Through    Tiirkey  Pass 

South  Hadley  was  a  steep  and  crooked  trail,  leading  around 
great  boulders  and  over  rocky  ledges  and  he  who  would  take 
the  journey  was  obliged  to  trudge  on  foot.  Deer  fled  into  the 
woods  on  either  hand.  Rabbits  darted  like  shadows  across 
the  path  and  sometimes  a  rattlesnake  beside  the  way  sounded 
an  alarm.  Bolder  than  all  these,  at  echo  of  footsteps,  flocks  of 
wild  turkeys  gobbled  and  fled.  The  traveler  seldom  failed  to 
fire  at  these  presumptuous  birds  with  his  old-fashioned  musket, 
and  assured  himself  of  a  welcome  by  presenting  his  hostess  at 
South  Hadley  Falls  with  the  material  for  a  sumptuous  dinner. 
These  early  settlers  were  successful  hunters,  and  the  moun- 
tains around  this  valley  afforded  them  opportunity  to  procure 
the  game  so  necessary  to  comfort.  Deer  furnished  food  and 
clothing,  the  skins  being  made  into  breeches,  jackets  and 
moccasins,  and  as  a  result  the  animals  became  exceedingly 
scarce  after  1780  in  spite  of  a  law  passed  for  their  protection, 
enforced  by  the  "Informers  of  Deer"  who  were  appointed  to 
arrest  offenders.  The  wild  turkeys,  however,  increased  and 
multiplied,  and  housewives  from  their  great  brick  ovens  some- 
times served  birds  weighing  almost  sixty  pounds.  One  flock 
remained  in  1842,  a  few  turkeys  in  1845,  *^"^  ^^^  gobbler  in 
185 T.  Not  many  years  ago  the  initials  of  the  oldtime  turkey 
hunters  might  have  been  seen  cut  on  the  trees  along  the  way 
near  the  places  where  their  famous  shots  were  made,  and  tales 
of  their  skill  are  handed  down  to  their  descendants.  Hunters 
and  game  have  passed  away,  but  we  who  spin  through  "  Turkey 
Pass  "  on  the  Amherst  and  Sunderland  trolley  cars,  in  imagi- 
nation spy  amid  the  mountain  shadows  the  barrel  of  an  ancient 
musket,  and  hear  the  shrill  notes  of  that  last  old  turkey- 
gobbler  as  his  ghost  flies  despairing  from  its  native  haunts. 


8  Through    Turkey  Pass 

The  old  Indian  trail,  made  passable  for  horses,  was  after- 
ward widened  into  a  wagon  road,  over  which  plodded  travelers 
on  business  or  pleasure,  farmers  with  loads  of  produce  bound 
for  Springfield,  and  later,  on  visitors'  days,  the  favored  college 
students  who  were  allowed  to  call  on  their  "  cousins  "  within 
the  sacred  precincts  of  "  Mount  Holyoke  Female  Seminary." 
Mr.  Oren  Williams,  just  passed  his  ninetieth  birthday,  remem- 
bers working  on  that  old  road  before  it  was  abandoned  for  the 
present  highway.  But  all  old-fashioned  means  of  transporta- 
tion proved  too  slow  for  the  Amherst  farmers  of  the  present 
day,  and  the  enterprising  citizens  of  the  town  built  an  electric 
railroad.  "  From  his  outpost  in  the  rising  North  "  old  Sugar 
Loaf  looked  down  and  saw  the  trolley  car  deposit  its  crowds  of 
passengers  within  the  limits  of  his  shadow  and  almost  at  his 
feet.  Not  content  with  opening  to  the  people  of  Sunderland  a 
direct  line  of  communication  with  Amherst  and  Northampton, 
the  railroad  company  sent  gangs  of  workmen  along  the  old 
Indian  trail,  who  laid  the  rails  and  stretched  the  wire.  On 
July  12,  1902,  two  cars  decked  with  flags  and  filled  with  officers 
of  the  company  and  their  friends  ran  through  the  Notch 
to  South  Hadley.  By  means  of  the  Amherst  and  Sunderland 
electric  railroad  the  Holyoke  mountains,  once  a  wall  of  sepa- 
ration, have  become  a  medium  of  communication  between  two 
colleges,  and  a  bond  of  union  between  two  neighboring  towns. 
Rumors  of  the  wild  and  unique  scenery  along  this  new  route 
have  gone  abroad,  and  during  the  first  season  loaded  cars 
brought  visitors  from  New  York,  New  Haven  and  other  dis- 
tant cities.  "  Fair  Amherst,  with  her  many  windowed  col- 
leges "  is  to-day  not  only   an    educational    center,    but    also   a. 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  g 

place  of  arrival  from  all  parts  of  the  state,  and  of  departure  to 
the  four  points  of  the  compass. 

The  section  of  territory  opened  by  the  Amherst  and  Sunder- 
land trolley  line  is  rich  in  historic  incident  and  association. 
The  traveler  who  would  visit  this  locality  under  most  favorable 
circumstances  will  leave  the  city  hall  in  Holyoke  on  a  clear  day 
in  early  summer,  or  when  the  mountains  are  glowing  in  the 
garb  of  late  October.  We  pass  Mount  Holyoke  college  in 
South  Hadley.  The  scene  changes  from  fertile  meadows  to 
rocky  pasture  land  and  before  us,  seeming  impassable,  lie  the 
Holyoke  mountains.  No  cog-wheel  road  is  needed  here,  for 
the  Indian  who  trod  this  winding  way  selected  the  lowest  pas- 
sage between  two  mountain  peaks  over  which  to  make  the 
journey,  and  the  white  man  has  followed  in  his  track.  The 
rails  are  laid  upon  a  firm  foundation.  The  car  moves  up  a 
gentle  grade,  made  easy  of  ascent  by  filling  in  with  the  abund- 
ant supply  of  rocks  flung  by  gigantic  hands  from  heights 
above.  The  mountains  close  about  us  and  we  have  reached 
the  Notch  of  the  present  day,  in  olden  time  the  "  Round  Hill 
Crack"  or  "Turkey  Pass." 

These  mountains  are  precipitous  and  of  volcanic  origin,  hav- 
ing been  forced  up  through  the  surrounding  strata.  To  the 
botanist  and  geologist  they  are  of  especial  interest.  The  flora, 
is  varied  and  furnishes  innumerable  specimens  for  collections; 
made  by  students  of  the  neighboring  schools  and  colleges. 
Wild  beasts  no  longer  affright  the  ramblers  through  the  woods,, 
but  foxes  and  squirrels  and  rabbits  are  there,  and  birds  may  be 
seen  in  great  variety.  Trout  streams  tempt  the  angler,  and  the 
bee-hunter  and  the  entomologist  find  pleasure  and  profit  in 
their  researches  among  the  peaks  and  foothills. 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  ii 

A  tract  of  land  near  the  Notch  will  soon  be  cleared  for  pic- 
nic grounds.  In  the  Notch  itself  the  traveler  from  Holyoke 
sees  to  the  west  a  famous  talus  slope  known  as  the  "  Devil's 
Garden,"  where  for  ages  the  rocks  have  fallen  and  split  in 
pieces.  Thousands  of  tons  of  shingle  stones  suitable  for  the 
construction  of  macadam  roadbeds  are  now  made  available, 
and  will  no  doubt  be  used  for  the  improvement  of  adjacent 
highways.  In  early  days  rattlesnakes  came  out  to  sun  them- 
selves upon  these  solitary  ledges,  but  none  have  been  seen 
here  for  many  years,  and  the  mountain  climber  need  not  fear  to 
venture  on  the  footpath  which  leads  over  the  rocks  beyond  to 
the  top  of  Bare  Mountain  which  overlooks  the  pass  from  the 
west.  No  house  is  on  the  summit  and  no  fee  will  be  required, 
but  the  extended  view  which  meets  the  eye  will  well  repay  the 
slight  exertion. 

Movint   NorwottxacK. 

Another  peak,  the  highest  in  the  Holyoke  range,  rises  just 
beyond  Round  Hill  east  of  the  pass.  This  is  Norwottuck, 
named  from  the  old  Indian  tribe  that  owned  the  land 
before  the  white  man  came.  From  its  sunmiit  may  be  seen 
the  whole  of  the  beautiful  Connecticut  valley.  Far  to  the 
north  rise  the  Green  Mountains  of  Vermont,  and  black  against 
the  sky  lies  Monadnockin  New  Hampshire,  while  nearer  looms 
Mount  Toby,  like  a  gigantic  sleeping  elephant.  Beyond  the 
eastern  hills  Wachusett  may  be  seen.  A  distant  western  peak, 
the  highest  in  our  state,  recalls  the  Indian  chief,  old  Gray 
Lock,   who  from  its   summit  watched  the  signal  smokes  of  his 


12  Through  Turkey  Pass 

followers  encamped  in  the  valley  below.  Behind  the  Pelham 
hills  lies  Mount  Lincoln,  a  green  embankment  from  whose 
heights  the  patriots'  bonfires  blazed  in  Revolutionary  days. 
Farther  south  with  its  tall  spire  against  a  cloud,  like  a  toy 
building  set  upon  the  edge  of  the  horizon,  stands  the  white 
meeting-house  in  Prescott.  From  north  to  south  the  glistening 
river  takes  its  tortuous  way.  Hadley  and  Amherst,  Belcher- 
town  and  Granby,  seem  at  our  very  feet.  Holyoke  with  its 
thriving  industries  and  Springfield  with  its  armory,  fix  our 
attention,  and  many  prosperous  towns  and  country  villages  in 
this  fair  valley  lie  misty  in  the  distance. 

How  different  the  scene  from  that  beheld  by  savage  King 
Philip  seated  in  his  chair  of  old  red  sandstone  on  Mount  Sugar 
Loaf !  From  his  exalted  position  the  Indian  chief  gazed  upon 
dense  forests,  broken  only  by  clearings  about  the  struggling 
river  settlements.  Tradition  tells  us  that  as  he  gazed  he  con- 
sidered plans  by  which  the  pale  intruders  were  to  be  wiped  out 
of  existence  and  the  valley  restored  to  its  primitive  possessors. 
After  the  dark  days  of  Indian  conflict  and  massacre  had  passed, 
the  scene  from  the  top  of  Norwottuck  showed  Hadley  as  a 
little  group  of  houses  in  the  bend  of  the  river,  and  across  the 
stream  was  Northampton,  another  small  cluster  of  buildings. 
Below  the  Great  Falls  to  the  south  a  faint  cloud  of  smoke  on 
the  horizon  marked  the  location  of  Springfield.  The  few 
houses  in  Deerfield  and  Northfield  were  hidden  in  the  great 
northern  woods,  which  extended,  an  unbroken  wilderness,  to 
Canada. 

In  1760  Paul  Coffin,  a  famous  traveler,  climbed  Norwottuck 
and  described  the  landscape  as  a  ''  Beautiful  garden."   Timothy 


14  Through    Turkey  Pass 

Dwight  made  several  trips  to  the  top  of  the  range  and  recorded 
his  impressions  in  enthusiastic  language.  President  Edward 
Hitchcock  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  students  July  4,  1845,  cut 
a  road  up  Mount  Holyoke  and  dined  with  Mary  Lyon  and  her 
girls  upon  its  summit.  Professor  Shepard  upon  that  occasion 
made  the  following  prophecy  : 

"  Henceforth  with  showers  of  blessings  on  your  heads  will 
ascend  to  this  most  commanding  eyrie  of  the  Connecticut  val- 
ley the  tired  traveler,  the  wan  invalid,  prattling  childhood  and 
even  hoary  age  :  while  maiden  beauty,  no  more  toiling  over 
uncertain  footpaths,  and  up  steep  declivities,  will  with  flowing 
robe  and  plumed  hat  be  attended  hither  by  gallant  knight  on 
prancing  steed." 

The  next  year  the  class  of  1846  cut  in  the  same  manner  a 
road  up  Mount  Norwottuck.  The  dwellers  in  South  Amherst 
built  a  platform  on  the  summit  and  five  hundred  students  from 
both  "  literary  institutions"  joined  with  people  of  the  town  in  a 
fourth  of  July  picnic  on  the  mountain  top.  Salutes  were  fired 
and  President  Hitchcock  in  his  address  offered  the  following 
sentiment : 

•'  Mount  Norwottuck  :  hitherto  it  has  been  a  wall  of  separation 
between  two  literary  institutions.  To-day  it  is  a  point  of  union. 
May  it  ever  be  an  object  of  deep  interest  to  both." 

Rev.  George  E.  Fisher  of  North  Amherst,  a  member  of  the 
class  of  1846,  well  remembers  this  unique  celebration  in  which 
he  was  an  active  participant.  At  this  time  a  steam  railroad 
had  invaded  the  valley.  Concerning  the  new  road  the  Hamp- 
shire and  Franklin  Express,  the  Amherst  weekly  paper,  said : 

"  And  may  we  not  fancy  that  even  these  mountains  as  they 
look  down    upon    the    outspreading    vales,  and    feel   the    iron 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  i^ 

shackles  binding  together  their  feet,  and  behold  the  rushing 
engine  of  art  casting  forth  hre  and  smoke,  safely  conducting 
along  said  road  most  tasteful  carriages  filled  with  human 
beings,  will  at  such  scenes  smile   in  their  elevated  grandeur?  " 

This  trembling  hope  has  become  a  reality.  "The  progress  of 
modern  science  has  made  the  "  fire  and  smoke  "  and  the  "  rush- 
ing engine  of  art"  no  longer  a  necessity  in  order  to  enjoy 
quick  transportation.  The  mountains  "  in  their  elevated  gran- 
deur" have  allowed  a  trolley  road  to  penetrate  their  solitudes. 
Who  can  doubt  but  that  they  really  smile  at  the  passage  of  the 
"  tasteful  carriages "  by  means  of  which  Norwottuck  has 
become  a  "point  of  union."  The  wish  of  President  Hitchcock 
is  to-day  completely  fulfilled. 

TKe  Bay  IVoad. 

It  is  not  necessary,  however,  to  climb  the  mountain  in  order 
to  admire  the  northern  prospect,  for  this  is  seen  from  the  car 
just  before  passing  the  brow  of  the  hill.  The  road  is  perfectly 
ballasted,  and  the  descent  toward  Amherst  is  smooth  and  grad- 
ual. Reaching  level  around,  we  cross  the  old  Bay  Road,  once 
the  stage  route  to  Boston,  a  historic  highway,  whose  narrow 
winding  course  is  thronged  with  shadows  of  the  past. 

The  Bay  Road  in  the  olden  time  was  the  channel  through 
which  laws  were  communicated,  and  by  means  of  which  news 
was  received  from  distant  friends.  That  stony  highway, 
crossed  in  its  length  by  a  hundred  streams,  was  a  bond  radiat- 
ing with  love  and  hope  and  memory.  Here  and  there  a  hospi- 
table tavern  opened  its  doors  to  travelers  and  hunters,  who 
drank     their     flip     and    smoked     their    pipes   before    its    fire. 


^fl@tti.2&^Q^ 


^3  "^mm^ 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  ij 

Bartlett's  tavern,  burned  many  years  ago,  was  on  the  Bay 
Road  in  South  Amherst,  and  Jonathan  Bridgman  kept  an 
"  ordinary  "  in  the  old  homestead  now  occupied  by  his  descend- 
ant, Mrs.  Louisa  Porter.  We  can  imagine  how  the  tavern- 
keeper's  Httle  lad  listened  with  open  mouth  to  tales  of  strange 
adventures,  and  then  crept  trembling  to  bed,  to  shiver  beneath 
the  bedclothes  at  the  long  drawn  howl  of  the  hungry  wolf  on 
the  mountain  side,  and  to  dream  of  wildcats  ready  to  leap  from 
overhanging  boughs  on  him  who  passed  beneath  their  shadow. 
The  dwellers  in  these  taverns  lived  in  troubled  times.  Dur- 
ing the  French  and  Indian  wars  their  homes  were  on  a  military 
highway.  Captain  Reuben  Dickinson  at  the  head  of  a  com- 
pany of  Amherst  volunteers  hastened  along  the  Bay  Road  to 
Boston,  summoned  by  the  gun  fired  at  Lexington.  Burgoyne's 
troops,  after  the  surrender,  were  escorted  over  this  same  road^ 
stopping  to  fill  their  canteens  at  a  place  where  three  little 
mountain  brooks  came  together.  Cannon  for  Commodore 
Perry's  fleet  rumbled  along  by  the  Bridgman  tavern,  and  heavy 
carts  loaded  with  merchandise  passed  to  and  from  the  Bay. 
As  settlements  on  the  river  multiplied  the  Bay  Path  became  a 
great  thoroughfare.  Droves  of  cattle  and  of  pigs  and  flocks  of 
sheep  raised  clouds  of  dust  along  the  way.  Later  came  stage- 
coaches, driven  at  furious  rate  night  and  day.  The  '*  Fast 
Mail  Coach  "  left  Boston  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  and 
reached  Bartlett's  tavern  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  always  stop- 
ping to  water  the  horses  at  the  watering  place  which  has  been 
in  use  for  more  than  a  hundred  years.  The  old  Bay  Path  is 
to-day  almost  deserted,  a  narrow,  crooked,  grass-grown  high- 
way.     Its  traditions  are  unknown  to  the  present  generation  and 


1 8  Throzigh    Titrkey  Pass 

its  history  will  soon  be  forgotten.  About  its  mossy  banks  and 
timeworn  pebbles  lingers  still  the  romance  of  the  olden  time 
and  its  heroic  deeds.  Those  who  choose  to  walk  along  this 
road  a  short  distance  eastward  will  be  rewarded  with  an 
extended  view  of  northern  mountain  scenery  unsurpassed  in 
western  Massachusetts. 

SovatK    -A.mKerst. 

The  West  Street  of  South  Amherst,  along  which  the  trolley 
road  passes,  is  bordered  by  a  succession  of  fertile  farms, 
abodes  of  thrift,  intelligence  and  enterprise.  The  first  home- 
stead on  the  left  has  been  the  lifelong  residence  of  its  owner, 
Emery  T.  Darling,  and  was  the  home  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. Parts  of  the  house  were  built  more  than  a  hundred 
years  ago.  Upon  the  right  we  see  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in 
the  neighborhood,  the  home  of  Walter  Hayward.  The  project- 
ing upper  story  of  this  building  proves  it  to  belong  to  one  of 
the  most  antique  types  of  architecture  in  New  England. 
Amherst  has  long  been  noted  for  its  handsome  elms,  but  none 
more  stately  and  beautiful  can  be  seen  in  the  valley  than  the 
magnificent  tree  in  front  of  the  homestead  of  Thomas  J.  Thurs- 
ton, recently  sold  to  Charles  Stiles.  Here  in  order  to 
avoid  destroying  this  ancient  landmark,  the  surveyor  located 
the  electric  road  between  the  tree  and  the  house,  thus  saving 
to  the  owner  one  of  the  chief  ornatnents  of  his  estate.  This 
farm  was  the  birthplace  of  Mr.  Thurston's  paternal  grand- 
mother. The  tree  which  was  planted  by  a  member  of  the 
family  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century  has  grown  to  be  fif- 
teen feet  in  circumference   with  branches   spreading   a  hundred 


20  Tln^oiigJi    Tit 7^ key  Pass 

feet.  From  beneath  this  tree  by  day  we  can  see  the  trolley 
track  along  its  crooked  course  far  up  the  mountain  side  and  at 
night  we  spy  the  gleaming  eye  of  the  car  as  it  emerges  from 
the  rocky  cut,  and  may  watch  it  as  like  an  erratic  firefly  it 
appears  and  disappears  among  the  trees,  and  finally  rushes 
past  before  we  know  that  it  is  upon  us.  From  the  Thurston 
farm  across  an  expanse  of  fertile  meadows  lies  the  village  of 
South  Amherst,  the  spire  of  its  church  rising  white  against  the 
Mount  Lincoln  foothills.  This  section  of  the  town  has  been 
the  home  of  many  distinguished  men  ancl  women.  John  C. 
Hammond  of  Northampton,  and  the  Bridgman  family,  well 
known  as  writers,  teachers  and  journalists,  were  born  in  South 
Amherst  and  received  their  early  education  in  its  schools. 
The  first  public  library  in  town  was  kept  at  Deacon  David 
Moody's,  and  the  first  anti-slavery  society  was  organized  in  the 
schoolhouse  on  the  Green.  From  South  Amherst  have  come 
selectmen,  representatives,  and  county  commissioners.  The 
names  Merrick,  Dickinson,  Bridgman,  Dana,  Johnson,  and 
Read  are  prominent  among  those  who  organized  and  have  sup- 
ported the  Congregational  church.  At  the  south  end  of  the 
town  lives  Mrs.  Henry  Bishop,  Amherst's  one  real  Daughter  of 
the  American  Revolution.  Several  of  the  old  houses  on  West 
Street  have  passed  into  the  hands  of  strangers.  The  large  and 
fertile  farms  of  James  E.  and  Allen  P.  Merrick,  who  not  many 
years  ago  were  infiuential  citizens  and  filled  many  public 
offices,  have  descended  to  their  sons,  who  occupy  the  old 
homesteads.  But  few  other  representatives  of  the  early  settlers 
remain. 

The  trolley  line,    skirting    the    hill,  crosses    "  Fort    River," 


22  Throitgli    Turkey  Pass 


which  rises  in  Pelham,  and  flows  into  the  Connecticut  at  Hock- 
anum,  near  the  site  of  the  old  Indian  fort.  At  Mill  Valley  the 
car  passes  in  sight  of  the  Clark  house  and  the  Gaylord  house, 
both  of  which  were  built  in  1782.  These  afford  good  types  of 
the  gambrel-roofed  dwellings  much  in  favor  with  an  earlier 
generation.  Near  this  point  Shays  Street,  named  for  the 
famous  leader  of  the  rebellion,  joins  South  Pleasant  Street. 
For  some  distance  the  trolley  follows  the  road  over  which  the 
insurgents,  in  the  winter  of  1787,  fled  in  hot  haste  on  their  way 
to  Pelham,  pursued  by  General  Lincoln  and  his  army.  The 
spacious  golf  hnks  of  the  Amherst  Country  Club  are  located 
on  Mount  Doma  to  the  left,  south  of  the  tracks  of  the  Boston 
and  Maine  railroad,  and  the  Club-house  may  be  seen  far  back 
among  the  trees.  The  Country  Club,  though  recently  organ- 
ized, has  a  large  number  of  members,  and  is  very  popular  with 
townspeople  and  students.  Near  the  Boston  and  Maine  sta- 
tion in  the  broad  highway,  the  annual  muster  and  training  of 
the  militia,  commanded  by  General  Mattoon  and  other  famous 
officers,  was  held  in  olden  time. 

AmKerst    College. 

From  this  point  we  see,  crowning  the  hill,  a  group  of  brick 
buildings,  recalling  the  early  days  of  Amherst  College,  as 
described  in    Ye  Amherst  Girl  of  Ye  Olden  Tyme. 

"  When  the  first  idea  of  Amherst  College  entered  the  minds 
of  men  who  saw  far  into  the  future  history  of  the  town,  and 
were  anxious  for  its  welfare,  the  fund  then  started  was  called 
the  '  charity  fund,  five-sixths  of  the  interest  of  w^hich  shall  be 
appropriated  to  the  education  of  indigent,  pious  young  men  for 
the  ministry.' 


To  Aiiihcrst  and  Beyond 


23 


BOLTWOOD    TAVERN    '6\G^-From  History  of  Amherst 


"  Our  Amherst  girl  was  grown  and  married,  when  plodding 
along  the  road  leading  to  the  village,  a  strange  procession 
might  have  been  seen.  Ox-teams  laden  with  building  material 
of  all  kinds,  with  lime  and  sand  and  lumber,  driven  by  farmers 
from  the  ends  of  the  town,  from  Leverett  and  Shutesbury  and 
Belchertown,  hastened  to  college  hill  and  deposited  their  bur- 
dens among  the  trees.  Pelham  contributed  great  blocks  of 
stone,  a  firm  foundation  upon  which  to  build,  and  all  was  a 
gift,  without  money  and  without  price.  The  farmers  turned 
out  in   force   and   camped  in   tents   upon   the  hill,    and  labored 


24 


Tkro2io-/i    Tiirkey  Pass 


OLD   STRONG    HOUSE— /^nw;  Hisiorv  of  Avihcrst 


like  the  Jews  building  their  temple.  They  plowed  and  scraped 
and  levelled  and  dug  the  trenches  for  the  foundations,  and 
amid  scenes  of  excitement  such  as  the  quiet  town  had  never 
before  witnessed  the  brick  dormitory  which  to-day  we  call  South 
College  rose  solidly  above  the  cornerstone  of  Pelham  granite. 
on  which  it  has  rested  securely  for  over  eighty  years. 

"  All  this  is  proudly  recalled  as,  annually,  at  Commencement, 
the  students  sing  in  their  Memory  Hymn  to  Old  Amherst  : 


■rvi> 


roi- 


THE    CEDES  r    STUXE    IX    WES'J'    QY^MTLT^^KX—Froi/iHis/oryofAiii/icrst 


26 


Through    Turkey  Pass 


CHAPEL   AND   LIBRARY— Agricultural  College 

'  Here,  in  toil  and  stress  of  trial, 
Here  in  sturdy  self-denial, 

VVrougiit,  to  found  these  hoary  walls, 
Men  whose  lifelong-  consecration, 
Rich  in  sacred  inspiration. 

Us  to  high  endeavor  calls, 

Ay,  to  largest  manhood  calls.*" 

Amherst  College  of  to-day  under  the  direction  of  its  Presi- 
dent, George  Harris,  D.D.,  LL.  D.,  has  attained  to  a  high 
rank  among  institutions  of  its  class.  It  does  not  aspire  to  be  a 
university,  nor  is  it  a  technical  school.  It  is  content  to  he  a 
college  where  young  men  may  obtain  a  liberal  education  that 
shall  broaden  and  discipline  the  mind  and  develop  those  ele- 
ments of  individual  character  which  will  fit  the  man  for  whatever 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  2^ 

profession  or  occupation  the  future  may  bring  to  him.  Its  cur- 
riculum has  especially  to  do  with  the  humanities,  while  science, 
is  not  neglected.  History,  literature,  oratory,  the  languages, 
philosophy,  and  art  are  taught  by  inspiring  instructors.  Among 
its  corps  of  professors  are  found  men  of  genius  and  of  com- 
manding influence,  and  its  alumni  occupy  honorable  positions 
all  over  the  world. 

Our  car  carries  us  past  the  white  house  south  of  the  Boston 
and  Maine  tracks,  in  which  Ebenezer  S.  Snell,  one  of  the  first 
two  graduates  of  the  college  and  afterward  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics, lived  and  made  his  meteorological  observations.  From 
the  railroad  bridge  we  may  notice  the  grand-stand  of  Pratt 
athletic  field.  Observatory  House,  the  residence  of  Pro- 
fessor David  P.  Todd,  celebrated  as  the  conductor  of  many 
eclipse  expeditions,  and  of  Mrs.  Mabel  Loomis  Todd,  a 
well  known  author  and  lecturer,  is  also  plainly  to  be  seen. 
Adjoining  Observatory  House,  the  new  College  astronomical 
observatory  will  soon  be  built.  The  third  house  north  of  the 
railroad  track  was  once  the  home  of  President  Edward  Hitch- 
cock, who  used  the  octagon  annex  as  a  study  and  cabinet. 
Near  by  is  the  Delta  Upsilon  fraternity  house,  and  a  little 
further  on  is  the  house,  once  the  home  of  Professor  Fiske  in 
which  his  daughter  Helen  was  born.  Many  of  us  remember 
her  amusing  story  entitled  "  The  Naughtiest  Day  of  My  Life,"" 
published  in  a  magazine,  which  described  the  adventures  of 
two  little  girls  who  many  years  ago  ran  away  to  Hadley  and 
were  brought  back  by  Professor  Tyler.  This  naughty  Amherst 
heroine  afterward  became  the  most  noted  writer  of  fiction  that 
Amherst  can  claim  by  birth,   and,  as   Helen  Hunt  Jackson,  the 


28 


Through    Turkey  Pass 


4  j 

L 

mM^  ^ 

''i-^^K^  r 

%:f-- 

w*       li^^l 

•»*, 

SeI 

xXORTH    COLLEGE— Agricultural  College 

author    of     "  Ramona  "     and    a     "  Centur}^    of    Dishonor  "    is 
accorded  a  high  rank  among  the  authors  of  America. 

The  old  Nash  tavern,  whose  ancient  sign  is  on  exhibition  in 
the  rooms  of  the  Amherst  Historical  Societ3%  stood  on  the 
right  hand  side  of  the  street,  about  half  way  up  College  hill. 
Near  its  site  lived  Edward  Tuckerman,  the  distinguished  Pro- 
fessor of  Botany,  who  was  a  pioneer  in  the  study  of  the  flora  of 
the  White  Mountains,  and  whose  name  is  borne  by  one  of  the 
famous  ravines  in  that  region.  Crowning  the  western  brow  of 
the  hill,  built  of  brick  with  white  trimmings,  is  the  President's 
Colonial  mansion,  and  beside  it  stands  the  beautiful  Morgan 
library.  The  next  building  is  College  Hall,  formerly  the  First 
Congregational  church,    where  in    olden  time   townspeople  and 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  2(^ 

students  worshipped  together,  and  where  now  the  public  exer- 
cises of  Commencement  day  and  week  are  held.  On  the 
eastern  side  of  the  street  may  be  seen  closely  grouped  on  Col- 
lege hill  the  North  and  South  dormitories  and  the  old  chapel 
surmounted  by  its  clock  tower  which  is  visible  for  many  miles 
in  every  direction.  Near  by  are  Appleton  Cabinet,  containing 
the  famous  "  bird-tracks  "  discovered  by  President  Hitchcock, 
Williston  Hall  in  which  is  the  Mather  Art  collection,  Walker 
Hall,  an  attractive  building  made  of  light  gray  granite,  and  the 
old  observatory  with  its  dome  shaped  roof.  The  gymnasium 
and  the  college  church  are  hidden  among  the  trees  and  at  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  grounds  is  the  red  brick  chemical  and 
physics  laboratory.  The  drive  which  leads  to  the  church 
affords  a  fine  outlook  over  the  eastern  valley  and  Pelham 
heights.  Travelers  from  all  over  the  world  have  declared  the 
extended  landscape  spread  before  him  who  climbs  to  the  top 
of  Amherst  college  tower  to  be  unsurpassed  in  beauty  and 
variety  by  any  viewed  in  foreign  lands. 

Approaching  the  village  we  pass  on  the  left  the  Psi  Upsilon 
house,  which  was  built  in  1822  and  occupied  for  several  years 
by  the  President  of  the  College.  Afterward  it  was  the  home 
of  Professor  Fowler  and  his  daughter  Emily,  the  granddaughter 
of  Noah  Webster  and  mother  of  Paul  Leicester  Ford.  The  cream 
brick  fraternity  house  of  Alpha  Delta  Phi,  surrounded  by  its 
velvet  lawn,  presents  an   imposing  appearance.  » 

Fair    AmKerst. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  remember  the  famous  citizens  of  the 
olden    time    whose   names   are    connected   with   every    foot    of 


JO  Through    Turkey  Pass 

ground  over  which  we  have  passed,  who  walked  upon  these 
streets  and  lived  and  died  in  these  old  houses.  Our  modern 
institutions  are  a  record  of  their  deeds,  and  their  memory  is 
held  in  grateful  recollection.  Side  by  side  vvith  the  car  from 
Northampton  the  Amherst  and  Sunderland  car  rolls  up  to  the 
■common.  An  hour  and  a  quarter  from  the  time  we  left  the 
Holyoke  city  hall  we  have  arrived  at  the  xA.mherst  House. 
Here  the  genial  proprietor,  D.  H.  Kendrick,  gives  us  a  hearty 
welcome  and  an  excellent  dinner.  Many  travelers  by  trolley, 
surprised  to  find  the  comfort  and  elegance  of  the  city  in  a 
country  village,  are  tempted  to  tarry  awhile  with  Landlord 
Kendrick  and  enjoy  his  hospitality,  while  seeing  the  town,  and 
at  Commencement  all  his  available  rooms  are  engaged  far  in 
■advance.  The  table  of  the  Amherst  House  is  the  pride  of  the 
management  and  is  daily  supplied  with  fresh  fruit  and  vege- 
tables from  the  Agricultural  College  farm,  and  with  meat  and 
poultry  from  the  best  markets.  The  parlors  are  spacious  and 
elegantly  furnished  and  the  dining-room  is  airy  and  well 
lio-hted,  while  from  the  broad  veranda  the  guests  enjoy  a  pleas- 
ant outlook. 

The  Amherst  House  is  built  on  land  given  by  the  town  to  its 
first  minister.  Rev.  David  Parsons,  and  by  him  deeded  to  his 
son,  Gideon  Parsons,  who  kept  an  "ordinary"  in  a  small  one- 
story  building  with  gambrel  roof.  In  1806  Elijah  Poltwood 
kept  the  tavern  which  had  then  become  a  two-story  structure, 
painted  yellow.  Before  this  oldtime  hotel,  from  a  stout  post,  a 
marvelous  sign  was  suspended.  A  well  stocked  bar-room  on 
the  lower  floor  offered  refreshment  to  the  weary,  and  up  stairs 
in  the  dancing  hall  the  frivolous  were  enabled  to  enjoy  their 
favorite  recreation. 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond 


3^ 


-2M 

I^^H.    ^^ 

DRILL  HALL— Aoi-icultural  College 

The  Boltwood  tavern  was  for  years  one  of  the  best  known 
inns  in  western  Massachusetts,  and  many  a  traveler  timed  his 
journey  that  he  might  spend  a  night  beneath  its  hospitable 
roof.  Coaches  rolled  up  with  crack  of  whip  before  the  otfice 
door,  and  distinguished  guests  inscribed  their  names  upon  the 
old  register  and  while  sitting  around  the  roaring  fire  discussed 
and  decided  the  fate  of  the  nation.  Those  famous  worthies  all 
are  gone,  and  could  they  visit  their  ancient  haunts  they  would 
not  recognize  in  the  handsomely  appointed  modern  hotel  the 
old-time  tavern  of  their  recollection. 

The  world  moves  on,  and  the  fact  is  emphasized  most 
strongly  to  the  guest  who,  from  the  veranda  of  the  Amherst 
House  watches  the  trolley  cars  start  out  in  four  different  direc- 
tions, and  realizes  that  he  has  but  to  choose  his  car,  to  be 
landed    in    Sunderland,     Pelham,     Holyoke    or    Northampton. 


J 


2  T/i rough    Turkey  Pass 


The  eye  is  pleased  to  wander  across  the  velvet  turf  of  the  com- 
mon to  Grace  Episcopal  church  and  to  the  fine  red  brick  Town 
Hall,  the  pride  of  Amherst.  This  building  contains  offices  and 
public  library  and  court  room  below,  while  on  the  second 
floor  an  audience  room  will  seat  a  thousand  persons.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  realize  that  over  the  common,  now  a  miniature  park, 
in  olden  time  cows  wandered  at  their  wnll,  with  clanging  bells, 
and  that  on  the  eastern  border  was  a  pond  fringed  with  alders, 
from  which  flocks  of  geese  with  loud  hisses  repelled  invasion. 
The  worthy  fathers  and  mothers  plodded  slowly  past  pasture 
and  goose-pond  down  a  street  as  crooked  as  the  rail  fence 
which  skirted  its  eastern  border  and  in  rainy  seasons  muddy  to 
an  untold  depth.  Sometimes  finding  it  impossible  to  pick  their 
way,  they  climbed  painfully  along  the  fence,  thankful  that  their 
clothes  were  of  stout  homespun  and  their  leather  shoes  imper- 
vious to  water.  A  correspondent  of  the  Express  urged  the 
citizens  to  get  flagstones  from  Montague  to  make  sidewalks 
between  Sweetser  and  Cutler's  store  and  the  old  P'irst  church 
on  College  Hill,  and  said:  "  If  this  project  does  not  meet  with 
favor,  my  next  proposal  will  be  to  our  merchants  that  they 
should  lay  in  an  assortment  of  stilts  for  the  rainy  season." 

From  the  hotel  veranda  the  business  blocks  are  plainly  seen. 
Where  in  the  olden  time  Luke  Sweetser  sold  "  Sarsnet  and 
Levantine  Silks,"  "  Blue  and  Brown  Camblets,"  and  "  Dark 
Flowing  blue  Tea-setts,"  is  to-day  the  drug  store  of  Henry 
Adams  and  Company.  Women  in  need  of  "  Balzorines  "  and 
"  Green  Booking  "  went  to  Field  and  Dickinson's.  The 
"  Pestalozzian  Primer  "  was  for  sale  in  the  bookstore  of  J,  S. 
&  C.    Adams.     Merrick    M.    Marsh    sold    "  Palm    Leaf    Mat- 


J 4  Through    Turkey  Pass 

tresses  "  and  Thomas  Wales  advertised  that  he  was  "  deter- 
mined not  to  raise  the  price  of  shoes  if  he  could  possibly  help 
it."  Farmers  were  prosperous,  and  wonderful  specimens  of 
farm  products  were  sent  in  to  the  editor  of  the  Express. 
"  Levi  Dickinson,  2nd,"  of  Hadley  exhibited  an  egg  measuring 
seven  and  five-eighths  by  six  and  one-fourth  inches.  John  F. 
Nutting  raised  a  radish  weighing  five  and  one-half  pounds,  and 
D.  F.  Cowles  had  a  parsnip  which  measured  three  feet,  nine 
and  three-fourths  inches  in  length.  Jonathan  Cowls  picked  in 
his  orchard  an  apple  weighing  seventeen  and  one-half  ounces, 
while  Spencer  Smith  brought  from  South  Amherst  a  tomato 
that  weighed  a  pound  and  a  half.  Walter  Fuller  sent  to  the 
newspaper  office  specimens  of  his  "  Norwottuck  ice  cream," 
and  bridal  parties  furnished  the  editor  with  a  loaf  of  wedding- 
cake.  These  articles  were  eaten,  and  their  good  qualities 
noticed  in  the  paper.  Each  year  a  cattle  show  was  held  upon 
the  common  and  mammoth  eggs  and  apples  and  radishes  and 
parsnips  were  exhibited.  On  these  occasions  the  farmers  and 
professors  and  "  Rev'd  Clergy  "  sat  down  together  in  the  hotel 
dining-room,  and  in  after  dinner  speeches,  congratulated  each 
other  upon  their  success  in  the  practical  application  of  the 
science  of  Agriculture.  The  famous  Indian  doctress,  Mrs. 
Young,  was  ready  in  her  office  in  the  Amherst  House  to  cure  all 
diseases,  *'  Chronic,  Incipient,  eruptive,  Scorbutic,  sympa- 
thetic, Symphatic,  or  Epidemic  "  and  could  thus  be  consulted 
in  case  the  banqueters  should  indulge  too  freely  in  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  table. 

These  glimpses    of    local  history    prepare    the  visitor  for  a 
stroll   on   Amity  street  where,   on  the  site  of  the   present  brick 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  j^ 

schoolhouse,  the  Amherst  Academy,  the  second  classical  insti- 
tution in  western  iMassachusetts,  was  once  located.  Eugene 
and  Roswell  Field  spent  their  boyhood  in  the  house  now  owned 
by  Hiram  Heaton,  on  the  corner  of  Amity  street  and  Lincoln 
Avenue,  and  attended  the  private  school  kept  by  the  Misses 
Howland  in  the  octagon  house  on  North  Prospect  street.  The 
old  Strong  house,  built  in  1744,  is  in  plain  view  from  the  hoteh 
This  ancient  dwelling  with  gambrel  roof  and  quaint  interior  is 
the  oldest  house  in  town,  and  stands  substantially  the  same  as 
it  did  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  The  deep  yard  and 
magnificent  trees  before  this  venerable  mansion  attract  atten- 
tion and  the  former  shows  the  width  of  the  old  highways  laid 
out  when  the  town  was  in  its  infancy.  The  Mary  Mattoon 
Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  has  its  headquarters  in  an  annex  to  this 
house,  and  its  rooms  are  filled  with  relics  of  the  olden  time 
gathered  from  all  the  country  round. 

Other  walks  about  the  village  are  of  exceeding  interest,  but 
the  car  for  Sunderland  is  waiting  and  we  must  hasten  on  our 
way.  We  see  as  we  continue  our  ride  to  the  north,  on  either 
side  of  Pleasant  street  houses  which  have  stood  since  the 
beginning  of  the  century.  The  old  West  Cemetery  on  the 
right,  where  Revolutionary  heroes  and  their  descendants  sleep, 
is  worthy  of  a  visit.  On  a  commanding  eminence  in  the  midst 
of  a  grove  of  oaks  and  chestnuts  we  notice  the  group  of  build- 
ings where  in  1827,  the  "  Mount  Pleasant  Classical  Institu- 
tion "  was  established.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  prepared  for 
Amherst  College  in  this  famous  school. 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  3Y 

MassacKvisetts    Agricxiltviral   College. 

Passing  Unity  church  on  the  right  and   St.  Bridget's  church 
on  the  left,  the  car  runs  through  the  grounds  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  College  comprising  an  estate  of  four  hundred 
acres.     From    the    southern  entrance    may  be  seen  the    stone 
chapel  and  the  colonial  dining  hall,  around  which  are  grouped 
dormitories,    laboratories,   green-houses,  the    model    barn    and 
stables,  the  museums  and  the  dwelling  houses  of  professors  and 
their  assistants.      In  the  midst  of  the  broad  stretch  of  meadow 
the  miniature  lake   reflects   the    sunlight  by  day   and  the  many 
electric  lights  by  night.      For  a  background   to  the   picture  the 
Berkshire  hills  and   distant   Green    mountains   rise   against  the 
horizon.     On  the   campus  a  football   game  may   be  in  progress 
or  the   college  battalion  may    be  marching   to  military   music. 
The  gardens,  the  orchards,  the  bits  of  forest,  the  conservatories, 
the  museums,   the  library,  and  the  whole  equipment  and  work- 
ing of  this   educational   institution   maintained   by   the  Federal 
and  State  Governments   at  the  cost  of  many  thousands  of  dol- 
lars annually,  are  open  to  the  inspection  of  visitors.     Young 
men  and  women   who  are  citizens  of  the  United  States  receive 
here  a  most  excellent  education   in  the  arts   and  sciences  with- 
out charge  for  tuition.     Degrees  of  Bachelor  of  Science,  Mas- 
ter of  Science,  and  Doctor  of   Philosophy  are   conferred.     Stu- 
dents from   Japan,    Mexico,   Brazil,  and  other  foreign  countries- 
have   availed  themselves  of  the  privileges  of  the   college.     Its 
president,   Henry    H.   Goodell,    M.  A.,    LL.  D.,  has  been   con- 
nected  with   the    institution    as   instructor,    professor,  or  chief 
executive  officer  from  its  establishment  in  1867.     Although  the 


38 


ThroiioJi    Turkey  Pass 


BUTTONWOOD    TREK— Sunderland  Street 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  jg 

college  is  closed  in  summer  the  closely  related  work  of  the 
Hatch  Kxperiment  station  in  its  many  departments  is  carried 
on  continuously  throughout  the  year. 

NortK   AmKerst   and   Svinderlancl. 

Beyond  the  college  grounds  we  see  at  the  right,  on  the 
northern  slope  of  Mount  Pleasant  and  commanding  a  fine  view 
of  the  Connecticut  and  Deerfield  valleys,  the  old  Dickinson 
estate,  "  Mark's  Meadow."  The  house  was  built  many  years 
ago  on  land  that  had  been  owned  by  the  family  for  generations. 
Here  lived  and  died  Captain  Marquis  F.  Dickinson,  a  direct 
descendant  of  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  the  founder  of  Hadley. 
His  wife  was  the  first  real  Daughter  of  Mary  Mattoon  Chapter, 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution.  The  present  owner, 
Marquis  F.  Dickinson  of  Boston,  while  preserving  its  antique 
features,  has  put  the  home  of  his  ancestors  in  thorough  repair 
and  with  his  family  occupies  it  as  a  summer  residence.  From 
the  college  grounds  the  village  of  North  Amherst,  with  its 
white  meeting-house,  seems  to  be  nestled  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Toby,  but  as  we  approach  the  mountains  recede,  and  charming 
views  of  country  homes  and  fertile  fields  open  in  all  directions. 
The  method  by  w4iich  this  North  Amherst  meeting-house  was 
built,  told  in  the  Sfofv  of  a  Neiv  England  Country  Churchy  is 
unique  in  New  England^history.  The  people  are  prosperous  and 
many  of  them  are  descended  from  the  first  settlers  of  this  section 
of  the  town.  Just  beyond  the  village  v;here  the  road  turns 
sharply  to  the  left  is  the  home  of  XA^alter  D.  Cowls,  President  of 
the  Amherst  and  Sunderland  Street    Railway  Company.     This 


^o  Through    Turkey  Pass 

estate  was  the  property  of  his  father  and  grandfather,  and  here 
they  Hved  and  died.  The  extension  of  the  road  to  Sunderland, 
to  South  Hadley  and  to  West  Pelham  is  due  to  tlie  enterprise 
of  President  Cowls,  ably  seconded  by  the  officers  and  directors. 

Proceeding  northward  past  the  power-house  of  the  railroad 
company  we  follow  a  level  highway  shaded  by  long  rows  of 
sugar  maples  and  bordered  by  well  kept  farm-houses.  In  an 
upper  room  of  the  old  Hubbard  tavern,  a  frame  dwelling  on  the 
left  at  the  first  crossing  above  North  Amherst,  Pacific  Lodge 
of  Masons  held  its  meetings  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago. 
It  was  just  north  of  the  "  Dry  Brook  "  that  Major  Caleb  Hub- 
bard was  plowing  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  one  horse  when  the 
news  came  of  the  fighting  at  Lexington.  The  oldtime  patriot 
left  the  oxen  standing  -and  the  plow  fast  in  the  furrow,  jumped 
on  the  horse's  back  and  galloped  to  the  village  to  enlist  in  the 
first  company  leaving  for  Boston.  Presently  the  road  turns  to 
the  left  and  we  catch  glimpses  of  the  southern  mountains. 
Another  turn  and  we  are  at  our  journey's  end,  with  a  beautiful 
shaded  avenue  stretching  before  us  to  the  north,  and  to  the 
west,  the  precipitous  sandstone  cliffs  of  Sugar  Loaf. 

Sunderland,  formerly  known  as  Swampfield,  is  a  typical  New 
England  town  of  the  olden  time,  built  on  one  broad  street  lying 
along  the  river  bank.  Here  Mount  Toby  and  Sugar  Loaf  and 
the  river  between  them  provide  a  natural  park  with  possibili- 
ties of  enjoyment  only  limited  by  the  disposition  of  the  traveler. 
The  Connecticut  at  this  point  is  a  smooth  lakelike  sheet  of 
water,  flowing  quietly  between  its  rocky  mountain  peaks. 
Delightful  strolls  may  be  taken  in  either  direction  along  its 
shore.     If  we  choose  to  cross  the  bridge  and  walk  a  short  dis- 


^2  Tliroitgh    Turkey  Pass 

tance  beyond,  we  find  cars  in  waiting  for  South  Deerfield 
which  connect  with  trolley  roads  in  several  directions.  The 
Mount  Toby  House  at  the  end  of  the  Amherst  and  Sunderland 
line  is  an  excellent  country  hotel,  and  is  noted  for  its  trout 
suppers.  Many  picnic  parties  take  refreshment  here  and  then 
explore  the  town,  noting  the  new  public  library  and  the 
immense  buttonwood  tree  in  front  of  the  home  of  Dr.  M.  H. 
Williams.  Among  the  interesting  houses  on  Sunderland  street 
is  the  "  Old  Parsonage,"  owned  in  1784  by  Lemuel  Delano, 
whose  ancestor,  Philip  Delanoye,  a  French  Huguenot,  came  to 
America  in  the  bark  Fortune,  and  finally  settled  in  Duxbury. 
One  of  his  sons  married  a  daughter  of  Miies  Standish  and 
another  a  daughter  of  John  and  Priscilla  Alden.  This  house  is 
to-day  the  home  of  its  owner,  Jesse  L.  Delano,  a  direct 
descendant  of  Philip  Delanoye.  The  history  of  the  town 
shows  the  early  settlers  in  Sunderland  to  have  been  intensely 
patriotic.  At  one  time  during  the  Revolution  John  Montague 
was  the  only  able-bodied  male  citizen  at  home,  and  he  had 
remained  to  weave  cloth  for  the  women  and  girls  to  make  into 
clothing  for  the  soldiers.  Sunderland  women  of  the  olden  time 
were  capable  and  energetic,  and  were  mistresses  of  many  arts 
and  crafts.  One  village  poetess,  Miss  Nancy  Hubbard,  signed 
her  name  "Viola,"  and  wrote  verses  entitled,  "  My  Country," 
"  The  Moon  of  Falling  Leaves"  and  many  others  which  were 
printed  in  the  Ha?npshire  and  Franklin  Express.  We  can 
imagine  this  pensive  damsel  sitting  on  a  rock  apart  from  the 
crowd  of  merry-makers  on  the  mountain-top,  and  scribbling  : 


To  Amkcrst  and  Beyond  ^JT 

"musings  on  nokwottuck." 
"  I  feel  the  presence  of  that  mighty  power 
Who  spake,  and  at  his  word  the  mountains  rose, 
Called  from  the  eartii  the  sweetly  springing  flower, 
And  formed  these  hills  and  vales  of  calm  repose. 
Nature's  broad  carpet  spreading  at  my  feet, 
Where  towns  and  villages  in  beauty  rise  : 
With  distant  water,  many  a  silver  sheet. 
And  glistening  spires,  up-pointing  to  the  skies." 
In  early  days   Sunderland  was  a  "  sea-port  town."      Heavy 
freight  from   Hartford  was  landed   at  the   foot  of   Bridge  street 
and  lumber  from  the  east  and  northeast  was   shipped  upon  the 
river.      But  the    Connecticut   was   not  a  satisfactory    means  of 
communication    and    the   citizens    greatly    desired    a   railroad.. 
Plans  were   made  by  which  the   "  Sugar  Loaf  Mountain  Road  " 
should  be  built  from    Montague  to  Hockanum   passing  through 
Sunderland  and  thence  by  Plum  Trees  through  Amherst  a  half 
mile  west  of  the  Amherst  House,     But  in  spite  of  their  anxiety 
and    determination,    the   people   waited    more  than   hfty  years 
before  their  idea  of   railroad   communication  with   neighboring: 
towns   became  an    established  fact.     To-day  this   lovely   rural 
village  is  an  objective  point  of  travel  from  distant  sections,  and 
opportunity    to    climb    the    neighboring   mountains    is    placed 
within  the  reach  of  all. 

East  AmKerst  and    West  PelKam. 

The  main  line  of  the  Amherst  and  Sunderland  railway  ter- 
minates at  Sunderland  but  the  road  has  still  another  excursion 
to  offer  to  its  patrons.  Half  an  hour  after  leaving  the  Mount 
Toby  House  we  may  again  be   in  Amherst   and  ready  to  board 


44 


T/iroiigh    Tiirkey  Pass 


FIRST  COxNGREGATIONAL  CHURCH-Rev.  W.  E.  Strong,  Minister 


.a  car  for  East  Amherst  and  West  Pelham.  The  old  American 
House,  formerly  the  Hygeian  Hotel,  is  on  the  left  hand  side  as 
ithe  car  passes  down  Main  street.  Just  beyond,  at  the  end  of 
Phoenix  Row,  a  house  long  since  burned  was  for  ten  years  the 
-home  of  Noah  Webster.  He  was  a  public  spirited  citizen  and, 
though  busily  engaged   in   the   preparation   of    his    dictionary, 


To  Anihci^st  and  Beyond  ^^ 

took  an  active  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  town,  was  vice- 
president  of  the  college  corporation,  and  made  an  address  at 
the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  first  college  building 
erected.  This  distinguished  scholar  was  also  a  practical 
farmer,  and  delighted  in  gathering  in  his  hay,  assisted  by  his 
daughters,  who  raked  after  the  cart. 

As  we  proceed  along  Main  street,  the  beautiful  stone  edifice 
of  the  First  Congregational  church  is  seen  upon  the  right. 
This  building  is  the  fourth  meeting-house  of  the  organization 
which  was  formed  in  1739,  when  the  settlement  was  known  as 
"  Hadley  Third  Precinct."  Before  the  town  received  its  name 
the  old  First  church,  in  obedience  to  the  decree  of  the  General 
Court,  had  settled  a  "  Learned  orthodox  minister,"  the  Rev; 
David  Parsons,  and  had  provided  for  his  "  handsome  and  hon- 
orable Support."  In  the  first  rude  meeting-house  built  on  the 
hill  where  the  College  Observatory  now  stands,  the  whole  tow^n 
gathered  to  worship  for  almost  fifty  years.  In  1787  a  more 
commodious  building  was  erected  near  the  same  location,  but 
with  the  growth  of  Amherst  College,  this  became  too  small  for 
townspeople  and  students.  The  third  meeting-house  was  com- 
pleted in  time  for  the  Commencement  exercises  in  1829.  As 
College  Hall  we  see  this  building  to-day,  square  and  orthodox 
in  its  appearance,  a  substantial  monument  to  the  thorough 
workmanship  of  its  founders  and  builders. 

The  old  First  church  was  the  parent  of  the  town,  and  the 
mother  of  the  four  other  Congregational  churches  within  its 
limits.  The  handsome  modern  edifice  built  on  land  purchased 
from  the  Montague  estate,  was  dedicated  in  1868.  In  1889  its- 
one  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  was  celebrated. 


To  Amherst  and  Beyond  /j.^ 

Nearly  opposite  tlie  First  church,  and  partially  hidden  by 
trees  behind  an  evergreen  hetdge,  is  the  estate  of  William  A. 
Dickinson,  the  former  treasurer  of  Amherst  College.  This  is 
now  the  home  of  his  widow  and  of  his  daughter,  Martha  Gilbert 
Dickinson,  author  of  "\\'ithin  the  Hedge,"  a  collection  of 
poems.  The  next  house,  the  first  brick  house  in  town,  was 
built  by  Samuel  F.  Dickinson  and  was  the  birthplace  and  life- 
long home  of  his  granddaughter,  Emily  Dickinson.  Here  she 
wrote  the  well-known  poems  which  were  published  after  her 
death. 

As  the  car  crosses  the  tracks  of  the  Central  Vermont  rail- 
road the  principal  manufacturing  establishments  of  Amherst 
may  be  seen.  On  the  right  are  located  the  extensive  hat  fac- 
tories of  the  Hills  Company  and  of  George  B.  Burnett  and  Son. 
Growing  from  a  small  shop  established  in  1829  by  Leonard  M. 
Hills,  the  hat  business  has  been  developed  by  his  son  and 
grandson  until  to-day  thousands  of  dollars  are  invested  in  the 
plant  and  hundreds  of  hands  are  employed  in  the  production  of 
straw  hats  for  the  supply  of  extensive  markets.  Adjoining  the 
factory  of  the  Hills  Company  are  the  Gas  Works  and  some  dis- 
tance to  the  north  of  Main  street  is  the  electric  light  station  of 
the  Amherst  Gas  Company.  Beyond  the  Hills  Company's  fac- 
tory to  the  east  is  the  box  shop  of  Angus  and  Seitz.  This 
firm  produces  many  packing  boxes  and  hundreds  of  tool-chests 
every  year.  On  the  opposite  side  of  College  street  the  Arms 
Pocket  Book  and  Leather  Novelty  Company  carries  on  a  new 
industry  recently  established. 

At  East  Amherst  opposite  the  second  Congregational  church, 
was  the  early  home  of    Professor  Herbert  B.  Adams  of    Johns 


48 


Throuo/i 


Turkey  Pass 


DAM   OF  THE    MUXTAGLE   CITY    ROD   COMPANY 
From  History  of  PelJiam 


Hopkins  University.  Near  by,  the  old  house  with  double  doors 
was  the  home  of  Noah  Dickinson  whose  daughter  Mary  married 
General    Ebenezer    Mattoon,     the    most    famous    soldier     that 


To  Am  hers  I  and  Beyond  ^g 

Amherst  ever  produced.  Across  the  green  may  be  seen  the 
square  white  house  in  which  hved  Mary  Mattooii  and  her  Hero 
of  ihe  RevoIutio)i.  The  Mary  Mattoon  Chapter,  I).  A.  R.  of 
Amherst  is  named  in  honor  of  this  woman,  who  was  a  true  New 
England  heroine  of  the  olden  time.  The  old  Baggs  tavern 
near  by,  where  prisoners  of  Burgoyne's  army  were  entertained 
and  where  the  conspirators  in  Shays'  Rebellion  gathered  about 
the  bar-room  fire  to  perfect  their  plans  is  worthy  of  our  notice. 
Shays  and  his  remnant  of  an  army  fled  along  the  road  over 
which  we  have  traveled,  back  to  their  homes  among  the  Pelham 
hills.  This  part  of  the  trolley  line  is  closely  connected  with 
that  notorious  leader  and  those  who  followed  his  standard. 
The  rebellion  was  planned  in  the  old  Conkey  tavern  in  Pelham 
and  the  army  was  drilled  before  the  tavern  door.  This  tavern 
was  long  since  destroyed,  but  the  descendants  of  those  whom 
Daniel  Shays  led  to  defeat  live  all  about  these  hills  and  tales  of 
those  exciting  times  are  often  on  their  lips. 

From  East  Amherst  to  West  Pelham  is  new  territory  for  the 
trolley  road  for  this  is  the  most  recently  completed  extension 
of  the  line.  The  terminus  leads  us  into  a  wild  and  beautiful 
region,  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Pisgah.  Here  is  the  Mon- 
tague City  Fish-rod  Factory,  where  fish-rods  in  three  hundred 
different  styles  and  patterns  are  made  from  bamboo  and 
lancewood  and  shipped  all  over  the  world.  This  industry  in 
prosperous  times  gives  employment  to  forty  workmen.  The 
manager,  Eugene  P.  Bartlett,  is  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Pelham 
and  is  well  known  and  popular  in  Amherst. 

The  Orient  grounds,  not  far  away,  occupy  a  sandy  plateau 
which   overlooks   Amherst  and   commands   a  fine   view  of    the 


5<9  Through    Turkey  Pass 

Holyoke  and  Mount  Tom  ranges  and  toward  the  north  the 
Hampshire  hills.  Here  in  a  deep  ravine  are  the  Orient 
Springs  whose  w^aters  have  been  found  to  contain  iron,  sulphur, 
and  magnesia.  This  mineral  water  is  noted  for  its  medicinal 
qualities  and  when  bottled,  commands  a  ready  sale.  The 
Orient  Springs  hotel  built  on  this  fine  location,  was  burned 
many  years  ago,  but  with  the  coming  of  the  trolley,  the  place 
has  become  accessible,  and  offers  a  beautiful  situation  for  a 
summer  boarding-house.  Near  by  is  Mountain  View  Range, 
owned  by  the  Amherst  Gun  Club.  A  little  to  the  south  on  the 
brow  of  the  hill  the  Flavel  Gaylord  place,  commanding  a 
charming  prospect,  has  been  recently  sold  for  the  site  of  a 
rustic  cottage.  The  summit  of  Mount  Lincoln,  twelve  hundred 
feet  high,  is  not  far  distant  and  is  reached  by  a  good  road. 
When  Henry  Ward  Beecher  was  a  student  in  Amherst  College 
he  loved  nature  better  than  books  and  almost  every  day  might 
have  been  found  among  the  trees  about  Pelham  and  Mount 
Lincoln.  It  is  said  that  he  had  a  familiar  acquaintance  with 
these  old  Pelham  trees  and  had  given  names  to  many  of  them. 
This  is  a  region  picturesque  and  romantic.  To  the  north 
lies  Lake  Wyola,  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  with  wooded  shores 
frequented  by  fishermen  and  hunters.  The  drive  through  the 
"Gulf"  by  Scarboro's  trout-pond  and  stream  to  Pansy  Park 
and  the  Belchertown  ponds  and  thence  home  through  South 
Amherst  offers  streamlets  and  lakes,  mountains,  forests  and 
gardens  in  charming  variety.  Suitable  sites  for  summer 
cottages  are  found  all  along  the  Pelham  hills  and  residents  in 
neighboring  cities  are  by  means  of  the  trolley  discovering  the 
beauties  lying  at  their  very  doors. 


£2  _  Through    T^irkey  Pass 

Returning  to  the  Amherst  House,  our  trolley  trip  over  the 
Amherst  and  Sunderland  railroad  "  Through  Turkey  Pass  to 
Amherst  and  Beyond  "  is  ended  for  to-day,  but  in  that  word 
"beyond  "  are  boundless  possibilities.  Our  ancestors  dreamed 
of  a  chain  of  canals  by  means  of  which  they  might  travel  from 
the  Connecticut  Riv^er  to  Lake  Memphremagog.  But  instead 
of  being  slowly  drawn  by  horses  along  a  narrow  channel,  we 
who  are  descendants  of  those  ancient  dreamers  fly  up  and 
down  hill  like  magic  on  cars  driven  by  some  beneficent  unseen 
power,  which  takes  us  where  we  will.  No  secluded  hamlet  can 
repel  the  invasion  of  the  trolley,  and  blessings  follow  on  its 
path.  Amherst  and  Sunderland,  Pelham  and  South  Hadley 
are  now  near  neighbors  and  visit  each  other  on  business  or 
pleasure.  Science  and  enterprise  have  produced  these  won- 
ders and  the  end  is  not  yet. 


